


so much sun where i'm from

by surrenderer



Category: Bandom, Empires
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Podfic Available, Summer, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-09
Updated: 2012-05-09
Packaged: 2017-11-05 02:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/401374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/surrenderer/pseuds/surrenderer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is summer romance at its finest, three weeks of sneaking out and laughter and kisses behind trees and in the lake and wherever else they can meet without it being too suspicious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	so much sun where i'm from

**Author's Note:**

> There is a podfic available! It's been a really long time since it was shown to me, so I don't remember who it was that recorded it, so if you were the one who did such a nice job, PLEASE let me know! Download [here](https://www.box.com/s/91865f2705541257b899).

Their first kiss is in front of the lake, quite close to where they’d met one week ago. Tom had been in the water, Sean already drying off in the faint sunlight and trying to get something beyond a weak Midwestern tan. Tom has grown to like the glint of sunlight off of Sean’s hair, and the way he smiles when Tom mentions that he knows that band, or that he’s read that book before. He gets a fluttery feeling in his stomach every time Sean texts him so that they can hang out, when he picks up his phone so that he can have an excuse to get out of the cabin for a little while and away from his family. His parents think it’s good that he made a friend out here because Tom hadn’t been too keen on this trip in the first place.

Sean isn’t too eager to be here either, from what he’s told Tom. Sean is a year and a half older than him, entering his second year of college while Tom is about to start his first. They go to schools near each other, they discover one night while sharing secret cigarettes by the shore. Both their parents insisted on family “getaways,” which is how they ended up here. Sean didn’t want to be here and neither did Tom.

That’s how they end up hanging out; two teenagers united by the simple fact of not wanting to be there. When they met, they talked about books and music and Tom thought that Sean had the most perfect smile. Now, they talk about their families and school and life in neighboring suburbs. Tom’s laying on his towel, eyes closed against the sun when he feels Sean’s fingers in his hair, brushing through the wet locks like he didn’t know if he should. Tom doesn’t squirm away like he probably should; instead, he smiles faintly and opens his eyes to look at Sean.

Sean tastes faintly like sunblock when they kiss for the first time, both their lips chapped and moving hesitantly. Sean has one hand on Tom’s cheek and is leaning over him on the rocky beach, their noses nudging together slightly. Sean is kissing him, soft and slow in the fading sun, and Tom suddenly doesn’t want to leave anymore.

\----------

Neither of them talk much about the future, or what will happen next week, or what will even happen tomorrow. This is summer romance at its finest, three weeks of sneaking out and laughter and kisses behind trees and in the lake and wherever else they can meet without it being too suspicious. Tom and his family will leave first, two days before Sean and his family head back to Chicago as well.

They have each other’s numbers, but the chances of this being more than a quick summer fling are slim, even if they go to schools within the same area of the city. Tom doesn’t delude himself into thinking that they’ll ever survive beyond a couple of sweet memories and pictures that he has on his camera.

They make the most of it, though. They swim in the lake and smoke on the beach and kiss happily in the shadows of nearby trees. There’s a town nearby, and they make the trip once, both of them walking along in flip-flops and shorts and t-shirts with their fingers laced whenever there were no cars around. Tom puts on stupid sunglasses while Sean laughs and takes pictures on his phone. They get ice cream, just to fill the cliché, and while they don’t share one cone, they do trade and debate over the merits of mint chocolate chip (Sean’s favorite) over rocky road (Tom’s favorite).

And maybe there are a few kisses here and there, because as much as Tom doesn’t like mint chocolate chip, he likes it a lot more when it’s coming off of Sean’s lips.

\----------

Tom’s family is out in town, and since Sean can get away tonight, Tom declines to go with them. There’s a hammock strung up on the back porch that no one’s used since they got here, so he and Sean climb in. It takes some teamwork and balancing and Tom gets flipped out once, but at least it’s not too far off the ground. Sean laughs at him and kneels down to kiss him, and if it weren’t for the unyielding floorboards, Tom would be happy to stay there.

They do manage to make themselves comfortable after some work, Tom acting as the big spoon since he’s the one who got into the hammock first. It’s still swaying a little in the breeze, and Tom thinks he could fall asleep here. Not that they will, because they can’t, for fear of Tom’s family finding them like this. They have two guitars with them as props, so that they will be in a jam session when they hear the car pull up. But for right now, Tom can wrap his arm around Sean’s waist and tangle their legs together, and Sean can put his hand over Tom’s on his chest.

“You’re leaving at the end of the week,” Sean says softly, breaking the silence. Tom tenses up slightly, because they don’t talk about this. They don’t talk about when the vacation ends and that they’ll probably never see each other again, because everything is perfect in this moment and Tom doesn’t want to see it end.

“I know,” is all he says, and he hugs Sean tighter.

\----------

The very last night before Tom is supposed to leave, he packs up his things early and spends the requisite amount of time with his family before he tells them that he’s going to see Sean and say goodbye. They agreed not to wait until the next morning because it would just be more painful and Tom would rather it not be painful. He wants to remember how happy he was with Sean and how easy it was to be around him. Sean has made this trip an actual vacation for him, and Tom hopes that he knows it.

They walk along the beach instead of staying in one place tonight, holding hands and talking about anything and everything except Tom leaving in the morning. Music, school, career plans, books, anything that comes to mind. The conversation is still natural, but it’s a distraction more than anything else. Finally, Tom can’t stand it anymore and he stops, Sean continuing for a step before he comes back.

“What are we doing?” Tom asks softly, staring out at the lake. He didn’t bring his camera tonight, but he almost wishes that he had, just so he’d have something to fiddle with. Even without seeing Sean, he can tell that he’s frowning.

“Walking around and chatting? Living our lives? Breathing?” Sean offers as suggestions, a forced lightheartedness in his tone that Tom doesn’t like. He knows that he’s to blame, he’s the one who’s melancholy about leaving Sean tomorrow while Sean is trying to look past it, but Tom didn’t think he’d not want to leave at the end of the month.

“Besides that. I mean, us. What…what are _we_ doing?” He has things to do in Chicago and at home, and Sean does too, but Tom doesn’t want this to end. He doesn’t know if this has a chance of being salvaged at the end of the summer, when they’re in different schools and have their own lives away from this lake and two cabins and hammocks on the back porch. Maybe they were meant to be that perfect summer fling that you held close to your heart and always remembered, but never regretted moving on from because it wouldn’t have worked in the real world.

He doesn’t realize that he’s said that all aloud until Sean tilts his chin up so that they can look at each other. “I don’t know what we’re doing either. I don’t know what _I’m_ doing, even. And I don’t know when I’ll be sure of it. But I do know that we have tonight. And we should try to make the most of it. Right?”

Tom sighs, and pushes up on his toes a little so he can kiss Sean softly. “Right.”

\----------

Tom wakes up the next morning with a sinking heart and a strong need for coffee. He’s more pleasant after he’s had a cup, and saying goodbye to the lake and to the cabin isn’t as bittersweet as he thought it would be. He doesn’t look in the direction of Sean’s family’s place, knowing that it would just make him feel miserable. He has no messages from Sean, not yet, but Tom really hopes this isn’t the end of it. He thought he could get away from this with no emotional attachments, but weeks of Sean’s smiles and kisses and all that time spent together had worked against Tom’s mind and heart.

They’re maybe halfway back to Chicago when Tom’s phone vibrates with a text alert. He checks, his heart leaping a little when he sees that it’s from Sean.

_I’m willing to give it a shot if you are._

Tom grins and texts back. _I’ve been waiting for you to say that._


End file.
